Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (4 December 1878-13 June 1918) was a member of the House of Romanov and the brother of Czar Nicholas II of Russia. On 15 March 1917, he refused to succeed his brother as czar after his abdication, as he wanted a new constitution first; he would be imprisoned and executed by the Bolsheviks.

Biography
Michael Alexandrovich was born on 4 December 1878 in Anichkov Palace, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, the youngest son of Czar Alexander III of Russia. He became second-in-line to the throne after the death of his father and the accession of his brother Nicholas II of Russia to the throne in 1891, and he lived a decadent lifestyle. He became the subject of a scandal when he married his mistress, Natalia Brasova, who was already married to another man; Nicholas had sent Michael to Orel to keep him away from Brasova, but Michael frequently visited her and decided to wed her. During World War I, Michael commanded a cavalry regiment of the Imperial Russian Army, and he led a corps during the Brusilov Offensive against Ausria-Hungary and the German Empire. On 15 March 1918, Nicholas abdicated in favor of Michael during the February Revolution, but Michael declined to take the throne until a new constitution was established. Michael was arrested by the Bolshevik Cheka on the orders of Moisei Uritsky in 1918, and he was executed by a Bolshevik firing squad at Perm on 13 June 1918 at the age of 39, dying alongside his secretary and some other prisoners.